


The Knight's Stray

by glaciya, TaneKore



Series: JayTim Week-AUs and Tropes [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Antihero au, Arkham Knight, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Jason IS the Arkham Knight here, M/M, Stray! Tim, and a morally grey Tim, expect Arkham Knight type violence, flirtation, just in case you didn't know it would be ooc of me not to have typos in my fics Dx
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 01:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14033172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glaciya/pseuds/glaciya, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaneKore/pseuds/TaneKore
Summary: “Take this,” Knight pulls a communicator out of his belt, handing it to Tim. “I’ll contact you when I have a job for you.”“Sure thing boss,” Tim takes the device and pockets it. He’s grateful for an excuse to leave, but decides just before he reaches the door that he needs to set one thing straight.“Oh and Arkham Knight?” he calls over his shoulder, knowing the man was watching him leave. “If you ever point that gun at me again, I’ll break both your arms.”





	The Knight's Stray

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! So this is the fic I'm most excited for during this challenge and I was lucky enough to be able to work with Tanekore on it :D A quick thank you to Tanekore for being an absolute delight to work with during this process and providing me with plenty of inspiration for the fic! Also coming up with the line: You and me, we're gonna run these streets.  
> [PLEASE CHECK OUT THEIR AMAZING ART FOR THIS](http://jaykore.tumblr.com/post/172084808445/day-2-friendsenemies-to-lovers-supernatural)
> 
> Bloodthirstymerc was kind and amazing enough to write a fanfic of this au. It's set right after this fic ends and is wonderfully written and steamy and they really did such a great job with it, please to check it out   
> [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15959591) and leave a lovely comment for them <33

Tim has always considered himself to be adaptable. He had learned at a young age that it was best not to become too attached to comforts, because in life nothing was constant. Things would just collide for a while before separating and moving on.  He embraces change, considers it a challenge to overcome.

But then Bruce left, which meant there was no more Batman, and Gotham didn't need a Robin if there wasn't even a Batman around.

And Tim’s not adapting very well at all.

***

Selina finds him standing outside of the remains of the manor a month after the explosion. He’s not sure what she’s doing here, but doesn’t think he’ll like the answer if he asks. 

She lets him mope for less than a minute before she’s had enough of that, telling Tim that she’s taking him out on the town for a little fun.

***

Being Robin had been a privilege. He had fought tooth and nail to take his place next to Batman’s side, and never stopped fighting to prove he was good enough to be there. He loved the rush that went through him during the rare moments Bruce would give him his approval, and would always miss the swell of pride that swirled in his chest whenever he put on the suit. 

Taking on the mantle of Stray had been a choice, a decision he made the night Selina showed him her idea of a good time. She was a master manipulator, using her charm and wits to persuade people into working for her, like pieces on a chess board. 

Tim found he fit into this lifestyle perfectly, could even use it to help Gotham in ways he couldn’t under Batman’s authority. This new, darker, Batmanless Gotham didn’t need him as Robin anymore, but maybe it could use Stray. 

Being Robin had given him a purpose, but being Stray gave him freedom. 

***

Councilman Hill’s penthouse suite on the upper east side of Gotham is a roomy, lavish, carefully kept secret from his wife. Ideally, Tim hadn’t wanted to make this pitstop on a busy night, but sometimes his chess pieces wanted to have minds of their own. 

Hill and his...date don’t notice Tim at first, sitting on a chair beside the window. The lights are off, so Tim is encased mostly in shadow with his Stray uniform helping to keep him hidden, but his eyes have adjusted enough that he can clearly see them grinding on each other. 

Then Hill spots him, letting out a very unmanly yelp before he shoves the woman back out into the hall. They both ignore her angered shrieking as Hill shakily stumbles into the chair beside Tim.

“I don’t like being disappointed, Councilman.” Tim cuts right to the chase,reaching forward to switch on the lamp on the table between them. 

“I told you,” Hill sputters. “I told you I wouldn’t be able to convince the board to cancel Arkham City’s reopening-”

“I didn’t ask you to convince anyone anything,” Tim waves his hand dismissively. “I simply asked you to vote against it. We both knew it’d be split even and your input would be the deciding factor. But you went ahead and voted for it,” Tim tsks, shaking his head. “Your wife is going to be so upset when she looks at those pictures of you having fun with different women.”

“No please!” Hill begs. “I’ll-I’ll pay you whatever you want, just don’t tell my wife-”

“Oh but councilman,” Tim smiles, slow and wide. “I already did.”

****

Even with the slight delay, Tim manages to make it to the abandoned warehouse where he’s supposed to be meeting Cobblepot ahead of time. He grapples on top of a stack of large metal storage containers to wait, letting his feet dangle off the edge and pulling out his phone to play puzzle games to pass the time.

The ancient circlet he had stolen from a museum earlier rests safely in a pouch on his hip. He’s not sure what the story behind it is, but Cobblepot was willing to pay a hefty price for it.

Working with Penguin is not very high up on his favorite duties as Stray, but if Tim can steal the collectibles Penguin is interested in, then he won’t have to send his goons to find it. Goons who were a little too trigger happy when they were caught by security. At least this way Tim knows that no one is getting hurt. 

The designated meeting time comes and goes, yet Tim is still waiting in the warehouse alone. At first he’s frustrated but, as the minutes continue to tick by, he starts to get nervous.

Although Cobblepot was violent and crime prone, he was a businessman at heart. He was never late to their meetings and, even if he couldn’t make it, he always made sure to send one of his henchmen in his place. That meant that either something happened to him, which Tim couldn’t care less about, or that this meeting was a trap.

He makes it look like he’s brushing hair out of his face while pressing a button on the side of his goggles. As soon as the button activates, the room is lit up in translucent colors. It’s a program he invented, inspired by Batman’s cowl with Detective Mode, that highlighted various aspects of his surroundings that he couldn’t make out with his eyes. He named his version of the program Kitten.

Kitten scans the area, using a camera attached to the back of Tim’s goggles to give him a three-sixty view of his surroundings. It’s through his rear camera that he sees the outline of someone crouched in the rafters behind him.

He fights the instinctual urge to tense up, keeping his movements unhurried as he shuts his phone off and puts it in his pocket.  There’s a panic button on his belt that’ll send a signal to both Selina and Harley, but he decides against using it. Whoever this is must be highly trained to be able to maneuver along the rafters with enough stealth to sneak up on Tim. Kitten highlights the guns strapped in several places along the stalker’s body and that makes Tim even more cautious. 

He feels disturbingly like prey here, unsure of which move to make next. If he moves to leave the stalker will strike, but he can’t just stay here either. 

The stalker makes the choice for him, and Tim barely has enough time to move as he leaps down at him.

He jumps, falling several feet onto the ground. He rolls his landing, standing and beginning to sprint in one fluid motion. He hears the heavy thud of someone landing behind him and pushes himself to move even faster, eyes on the exit that’s quickly getting closer with each step.

A shot fires, bullet embedding itself right in the center of the door Tim was headed for. It wasn’t meant for him, but as a warning, one that Tim heeds. He forces himself to a stop and stills. He takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly as heavy footsteps continue toward him. He turns before he’s within arms reach of the stalker, freezing when he comes face to face with the Arkham Knight. 

Arkham Knight disappeared the same night Batman did-hasn’t been seen or heard from since-but here he stands in front of Tim. His stance is relaxed, despite the fact that he’s pointing a pistol at the center of Tim’s chest. 

Multiple thoughts swirl in Tim’s mind in the moments they stand considering each other. The first, biased by emotions he thought were buried long ago, an angered accusation that Gotham was the way it is now because of this man. 

The second is a curiosity he encounters with most criminals he comes in contact with, ones that he barely knows anything about anyway, the need to know why. Why did the Knight hate Batman so much? 

Bruce had never told Tim about his relationship with the Knight, and always brushed him off whenever he tried to ask before, so he never learned Arkham Knight’s true motive. And now Bruce wasn’t around to give him answers.

The third is a more logical question now that his base emotions are out of the way, a cautious, puzzled thought wondering what Arkham Knight could possibly want with him. Batman would have used his fists to get information from the Knight, while Catwoman would keep quiet and patiently wait until the other person started talking. Thinking about the Knight’s history with violence, Tim doesn’t think he’ll react very well to either option. 

“You don’t want to shoot me or else you would have already pulled the trigger.” Tim’s voice is steady with his confidence in the statement. He’s thankful, because even though logically he knows what he just said is a fact, he’s having a hard time steadying his breathing. It’s been awhile since he’s been shot at, and the person standing behind the gun doesn’t make matters any easier.

The Knight tilts his head, but finally slides the pistol back into it’s holster. And then there’s more silence. Tim quickly finds himself irritated by Knight’s helm. He likes to be able to read people to help him decide how best to approach situations that are as risky as this one. The Knight’s helm gives nothing away, intensifying Tim’s unease.

“Well as fun as this is,” Tim takes half a step back slowly, thinking it best not to spook someone with a loaded gun. “I’ve got places to be.” 

“Your meeting with Penguin has been canceled.” Even though Tim was expecting it, Knight’s robotic voice startles him. 

“And how did you manage that exactly?”

“I bought him out,” Knight gives a sardonic laugh. “Greedy bastard would dance for me if I set the price right.”

A startled laugh slips out of him before he can help it. He quickly turns it into a cough. “All that trouble for a meeting with little old me?” He takes a step forward now, movements relaxed as if unbothered by the schedule changes.

“I heard you’re the one to go to if I need leverage over someone. They say you can get the intel I’ll need in the near future.”

“That could be true,” Tim shrugs. “Depending on what intel you want...and what it’s worth to you.”

“That’s yet to be determined.”

Tim bites his lips as he considers his next words carefully. “And if I say no?”

Arkham Knight shakes his head just once, slow and exaggerated, so Tim has no question that there’s a threat underlying the action. Tim sighs, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. Selina was going to love hearing about this.

“I can pay you.”

Tim starts to scoff at that, but then reconsiders. If Knight thinks he’s just doing all of this for the money, then it could work out in his favor. 

“Oh well that changes things,” he purrs, moving within reaching distance of the Knight now. “That makes you one of my clients, and I treat my clients real nice.” When the Knight takes a step back from him, it feels like a victory.

“Take this,” Knight pulls a communicator out of his belt, handing it to Tim. “I’ll contact you when I have a job for you.”

“Sure thing boss,” Tim takes the device and pockets it. He’s grateful for an excuse to leave, but decides just before he reaches the door that he needs to set one thing straight.

“Oh and Arkham Knight?” he calls over his shoulder, knowing the man was watching him leave. “If you ever point that gun at me again, I’ll break both your arms.”

***

He’s at the apartment Selina and Harley share, patching themselves up from a surprise encounter with Croc a few hours earlier, when Knight’s communicator buzzes. Harley looks over at it as it vibrates on the coffee table, curling her lip and growling. 

“Stop that,” Tim bumps their shoulders good naturedly as he reaches forward to check the message.

“I don’t like it either,” Selina says from the other side of the room. She’s laying back in a recliner, holding an ice pack against her swollen cheek. “He’s dangerous. You put yourself at risk every time he sends you on a job.” 

“Everyone we work with is dangerous.  _ We’re  _ dangerous,” Tim rolls his eyes. “Besides, it hasn’t been so bad.”

And he means that too. He’s been on Arkham Knight’s payroll for around three months now, and the jobs Knight has sent him on have been surprisingly similar to things Tim would have done anyway.

Knight seems to want to control the crime flow in Gotham. He understands that, especially in a place like Gotham, there’s always going to be crime. So he’s been using Tim to work his way through Gotham’s most powerful people, infiltrating gangs and the police force, getting politicians to fund his army. All steps to put Arkham Knight in complete control of what goes on in Gotham. 

Tim has to admit that together they’ve made more leeway than either could have possibly made on their own. With Knight’s army and influence, and Tim’s capability for gathering intel, there haven’t been many obstacles they’ve had any trouble overcoming. He still hates the guy though.

Selina and Harley don’t push him anymore, for which Tim is grateful. He can tell he’s going to have a busy night, based on the message the Knight just sent him.

**_I’m having a meeting with Dragos Ibanescu tomorrow at seven. Find out everything you can about his crew members and bring me something to ensure he can’t say no to my business offer while you’re at it._ **

Ibanescu was the leader of one of the gangs the Knight had yet to gain complete control of. It was a smaller gang, although that didn’t make his people any less disgusting. Tim already knew his crew made their money off of prostitution and dog fighting rings. 

Getting the scoop on Dragos and his crew won’t take more than hacking into his personal laptop and a few moments of Tim’s time. Finding out something that someone as slimy as Dragos was ashamed of, however, might prove to be a little difficult. 

***

Arkham Knight’s meeting lounge is as excessive as Tim would expect from a wealthy crime lord. It’s a large circular room at the very top of the Knight’s headquarters, decorated with red plush furniture and glass tables. There was even a bar in one corner, in case Knight needed to soften his business partners up before pitching something to them.

Tim brushes off the guards trying to search him when he first steps out of the elevator, smirking when Knight ignores his goons startled looks at letting Tim stay armed. He goes to stand next to where Knight is, in front of a large window looking out into the city.

“Nice view.” 

“What did you get on Ibanescu?”

“Straight to business then -I like that,” Tim nods, handing the flash drive over. “You’ll find everything you’ll want to know on there.”

“And my leverage?”

At this Tim grimaces. “That’ll be on the flash drive too. It’s uh...not something he wants out in the public, I think.” 

The Knight turns and gives him his full attention then. “What is it?”

“He runs a child trafficking ring in secret.” Tim’s unable to keep the disgust out of his voice, but the Knight doesn’t comment on it. In fact, he doesn’t even reply for a few seconds.

“I wasn’t aware he was the type.” Something in the tone of Knight’s voice makes the hair on the back of Tim’s neck stand up in an instinctual, caution-danger is near, reaction.

“Does it matter?” Tim asks, a challenge in his voice. It’s not wise to press the Knight, especially when Tim is still trying to get a read on him, but the detective in him needs to know.

“Does it to you?”

Tim frowns at him. “You’re the boss here, not me.” 

The Knight takes a step toward him and Tim has to lift his chin in order to maintain some semblance of eye contact with the Knight-as much as he’s able to with the helm anyway. 

“I’m aware,” he drawls. “I’m asking what you would do if it was up to you.” 

“I think nothing this guy could possibly have to offer makes up for hurting innocents. I’d rather beat him than talk business with him.” Tim decides to give an honest answer this time, instead of dancing around the question like Stray normally would.  Nausea curls in his gut just thinking about those kids. 

Arkham Knight hums, tilting his head at Tim and making him wish for the umpteenth time that he knew what kind of expression Knight had under his helm. 

The elevator dings, drawing both of their attention away from each other. It also makes Tim aware of how close they’ve gotten to each other, so he takes a step away. Dragos saunters out of the elevator like there should be red carpet underneath his feet. 

“Well if it isn’t the Arkham Knight himself! It’s about time we’ve met-Hey!” He glares at the guy who starts to pat him down. “Is this really necessary?”

“No,” Arkham Knight says, then pulls out his pistol and shoots Dragos in the face.

A startled, high pitched noise escapes Tim as he watches the corpse tumble onto the floor. He notices the Knight moving out of the corner of his eye, hears him giving orders to his men to clean up the mess.

“What-” he says. “What.”

“You did say you wouldn’t want to work with him.” Knight’s voice startles him out of his shock. 

He scowls. “I never said to shoot him!” 

“You wanted him alive?” Knight scoffs. “Whatever. Your payments on the bar. I don’t have anymore need for you tonight.” With that he leaves Tim, moving closer to his men. 

Tim only spares a brief glance at the bag on top of the bar, before using a window as his exit and grappling away. He doesn’t want to go anywhere near that elevator again.

***

He ignores his communicator the next time it goes off. It buzzes in his pocket during dinner with Dick and Barbara at their apartment in Blüdhaven. In a room full of detectives, it’s hard to hide the brief flash of irritation that crosses over his face. 

“Everything okay, Tim?” Dick is instantly in protective brother mode. Tim used to appreciate the attention, but things are different now. 

“Yeah, just a pesky client.” He slips a hand in his pocket to shut it off. They both knew about how he spends most of his nights now that he left the title of Robin behind. Barbara was quick to understand, but Dick took longer to come around. “Sorry. I don’t know why I even brought it with me.”

Barbara raises a brow at Tim. “By ‘pesky client’, do you mean the Arkham Knight?” 

“You’ve been hacking into my systems again,” Tim sighs, while Dick exclaims, “What?!”

“What the hell are you thinking, Tim?” He adds.

“I’m thinking that keeping a close eye on potential enemies is a smart plan,” Tim snaps. “And that if I thought I couldn’t handle it, I would have already asked for your help.”   
  


They both look rightfully shamefaced at that. Tim shakes his head, standing and putting his plate in the sink. 

“We just want you to be safe,” Dick says, giving him puppy eyes that he knows Tim isn’t immune to.

“I appreciate it. But I’ll be fine, I promise.” 

***

Arkham Knight is lounging on his couch when Tim gets back. Which is...the exact opposite of okay. And Tim is really not in the mood.

“How long have you known where I live?”

“Awhile.” 

“And you know what I look like obviously. Do you know my name?”

“I’ve known that even longer.”

Tim sighs. He’s going to have to change his locks after this at the very least. He doesn’t doubt Knight knows about his past as Robin too, which explains why Arkham Knight knew so much about his capabilities when they first met. His only comfort is knowing that if Knight wanted to hurt him, he’s had plenty of chances to do so already.

“Then why not visit before now?” Tim walks over to the couch-it’s the only seat he has that isn’t covered by equipment he uses as Stray-and sits in the small space of room left. “And get your nasty boots off my coffee table.”

The Knight makes a noise that Tim assumes is a snort before moving his feet. It’s hard to tell with the voice disguiser he uses though. “You didn’t answer my message earlier.”

“I was busy,” Tim shrugs. “I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.” 

“You’re angry with me,” the Knight leans forward, draping one arm across the couch, the tips of his fingers nearly brushing against Tim’s shoulder. 

“Of course I’m angry. You obviously know enough about me to know I don’t do business like you do. You shouldn’t have put me in that situation.”

“The world is a better place without him!” The Knight’s sudden outburst startles Tim, breaking the last shred of patience he has.

He slides off the couch and takes three steps backward, keeping the Knight in sight while moving closer to one of his weapons staches. He can only hope his taser can produce a shock large enough to strike through the Knight’s armor if he needs to use it.

Arkham Knight doesn’t make anymore sudden movements though. He freezes when Tim moves away from him, then relaxes back against the couch. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know,” Tim snaps, anger making his voice cool and sharp. “And I didn’t say you were wrong in killing him. I just didn’t like you making me have a part in his death. I’m not like your goons you manipulate and boss around.”

“I know you aren’t,” the Knight says in a lighter tone than before. “That’s why I came here tonight.”

“What do you mean?” Tim hesitates briefly, but decides to return to his seat on the couch. The Knight seems to have calmed down.

“I need a second, someone to help oversee my men and projects, and to help make difficult decisions.”

“Life of being a crime boss getting too difficult for you?” 

“Dragos was supposed to be that person,” The Knight ignores Tim’s teasing. “But now I think it should be you.”

“Me?” Tim laughs. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? You’re smart, level headed, and you’re definitely not afraid to stand up to me.” Tim’s cheeks heat at the praise and he mentally sighs at himself. 

“I’ll have to think about it…”

“I understand.” The Knight’s hand twitches toward Tim but then falls back in his lap. He stands abruptly, turning toward the window he had likely snuck in from. “I’ll give you a few days to consider. But, I know you want to make Gotham a better place, and you agree with the way I’m doing it. Otherwise you wouldn’t have kept helping me all this time.”

“I already said I’d think about it. You don’t have to give me a sales pitch.” Tim makes shooing motions with his hands. “And don’t come back here uninvited again. I won’t be so hospitable next time.”

“Understood.” Knight’s amused tone makes Tim doubt he took the threat very seriously.

***

Tim should be using the space Knight has given him to rethink his life choices, but of course he isn’t. Instead, he’s launched himself into cases he’s been neglecting since taking up work for Arkham Knight. 

Tonight, his sights are set on Ibanescu’s trafficking ring. It had taken him longer than he was comfortable with to gather every ounce of information he could on the entire operation. The people involved would no doubt have contacts and backup plans just in case they ever got caught. Tim had to make sure when he took them down, that the police had enough evidence from him to keep them down. 

He already has the flash drive ready to give to Gordon for when he calls the police, but before that happens, Tim wants to have a little one on one time with them at their base of operations-an abandoned toy factory on the outskirts of Gotham. 

Only, there seems to be somebody waiting for him on the top of the building, near the vent where he planned to make his entrance. 

“Arkham Knight,” Tim says, not bothering to hide the surprise in his voice. “What are you doing here?”

“The same thing you’re about to do, I’m sure.”

“You said you’d give me space for a few days but you’ve still been keeping tabs on me, haven’t you?” Tim sighs when Knight stays silent. “I don’t want any of these men killed here tonight.”

“Then I won’t kill any men tonight.” Knight’s promise does nothing to put Tim at ease, but he carries on without giving Tim a chance to protest. “I need to be personally involved in this. It happened while the city was under my watch so it’s my responsibility to shut it down.”

There’s no talking him out of this, Tim realizes. “We’ll do it together then,” he says, as if fighting side by side with Arkham Knight has been something he’d planned on doing all along. “But I don’t know what we’ll find in there and I need your word that you’ll keep a level head.”  

“Have I had a level head since you’ve known me?”

Tim lets out a laugh before he can help himself. “Try your best then.”

Fighting with the Arkham Knight is different from anything else he’s ever experienced. He doesn’t think he’ll forget it anytime soon. Tim lets Knight take the lead, falling into place behind him to take out any threats that the Knight might have missed in his destructive path through the warehouse. 

They move like they’ve been working together for years. Tim uses his whip on a man trying to sneak up on the Knight with a pistol, capturing his wrist with a slash and pulling, sending him tumbling straight into Knight’s waiting fist. Not long after, Knight wraps an arm around Stray’s waist to pull him out of the way of a woman with a sharp dagger. He lifts and twirls Tim in one fluid motion, bringing him back around with enough momentum for Tim to crash his knee into her temple. When they get surrounded, Tim pulls out his bo staff and gives his back to Arkham Knight. The criminals don’t stand a chance. 

He expects Arkham Knight not to stick around once the commissioner and his men show up, but he spots movement from a rooftop behind Jim as Tim is passing along the flash drive full of all the evidence the police will need to put the men away for a long time. 

“I should have you arrested as well,” Jim says, drawing Tim’s attention back to him. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to these days.”

“I’m afraid I’m much too busy to break out of jail tonight, Commissioner.” Tim lifts one shoulder up in a half shrug, before turning around and getting his grapple out. 

He’ll have to circle back around to the rooftop Arkham Knight is on so he doesn’t give him away. The police might barely put up with Stray, but they’d attack without question if they even caught a glimpse of the Knight. 

“Are you staying safe?” Something in Jim’s voice makes his chest ache. Tim makes sure to stay turned away from whatever expression is Jim’s face as he answers.

“No.”

Jim sighs. “Well are you staying smart at least?”

“Always.” Tim sends a small smile over his shoulder at Jim, and shoots his grapple off so he can escape before the conversation can continue.

Arkham Knight is still on the rooftop when he makes it up there, palms pressed against the ledge as he looks down toward the flashing police cruisers below. He posture is relaxed, so Tim guesses he must be in a decent mood. He doesn’t acknowledge Tim even when he comes to stand beside him, so Tim allows the silence, crossing his arms and following his gaze. 

Down on the streets police are still loading the freshly bruised and battered scum into their vehicles. A fair distance away from them, Jim is talking to a group of scared, but hopeful children, likely saying just the right words to give them strength for the days in their past and the days to come. 

“We did good tonight,” Knight says suddenly. “After it’s finished, everyone in Gotham will know not to fuck with us.”

_ Us. _ Tim hesitates with his reply. “We did. I think I want to keep working with you it means getting rid of gangs like this, once and for all. So I’ll be your second...if you promise you won’t kill those men.”

The Knight doesn’t move, but Tim is quick to catch the new tension in his body. “You are smart enough to know better.”

“I am smart enough to know sometimes there are different options than a bullet to the skull.”

“Not-”

“Just listen for a moment,” Tim says. “These men are going to go to jail, and you have some men in jail that are still loyal to you right?” He waits for Knight’s nod before he continues. “How do you think those inmates will react when they notice these kinds of people sleeping next to them?”

“I’d assume they’d react the same as they do everytime they get a new neighbor. They’re all criminals in there.”

“You’re a criminal, and so am I. We don’t hurt children,” Tim points out. “Believe it or not, most inmates don’t condone it either.”

“Your point?”

“I’m saying instead of going after them and killing them before they’re locked up, let me use the police I have in my back pocket to inform your men who is about to be joining them. Let whatever justice is served in prison prove that the Arkham Knight’s reach doesn’t stop on just the city streets, that not even one of the most secure and heavily guarded prisons in the world can stop him if someone tries to go against him.”

“I didn’t do all of this tonight because I want to prove a point.” 

“No, you did that because you want those children safe,” Tim agrees. “But you still need to prove a point. You can do both.”

Knight is silent for a moment as he considers Tim’s words. Finally he laughs and turns back to the streets view the product of their work tonight. “You’re going to make an amazing second.”

“Did you ever have any doubt,” Tim smirks, a wave of satisfaction twisting inside him at the Knight’s approval. 

“Any I had has been successfully wiped away,” Knight says, amusement still coloring his words. “You and me, we’re gonna run this city.”

***

Gotham is slowly rising back to it’s glory under the Knight’s watch. Crime still exists, like it always will, but it's more controlled. By now, most of the gangs in Gotham answered to him, and the ones who don’t want to be friendly are taken out quickly, so gang violence was down to a minimum. And with Tim’s help, dirty politicians and policemen were blackmailed into acting for the benefit of the city instead of their wallets.

It isn’t the way Batman would have done it, but it’s working.

***

He plans to use his position to learn more about the Knight, but it seems the other man is just one mystery after another. 

His opinions of Arkham Knight being just another homicidal maniac trying to take over Gotham were long gone by now. He has a quick temper, but killing was something he only did when dealing with the worst of the worst. Even when he discovered that one of his high ranking men was feeding information to an enemy gang, he never once went for his gun. 

He beat him around, lightly compared to what Tim knew he was capable of, before turning to address Tim. 

“What do you propose I do with this one?” Tim only allows his surprise to show on his face for a moment, then schools his expression, considering the two men in front of him with a thoughtful hum.

They’re back in the Knight’s meeting lounge. Tim sits casually on the large round table Knight uses to map out his plans, while Knight stands over his commander’s kneeling body.

“Make an example out of him,” Tim decides after a pause. He gets a nasty look from the commander, but he never liked the guy anyway. “Strip him of his title and authority, make him just a regular lackey again until he earns back your trust.”

“That sounds pretty reasonable to me.” The Knight turns his attention back to the commander, placing a heavy boot on top of his hand. “Am I right in assuming that there won’t be a repeat occurrence?”

The commander yelps when Knight adds pressure. “No!”

Tim receives several more nasty looks from Knight’s men on his way out, and he’s just as bothered by those as he was the first one. It’s not his fault their friend thought it would be wise to go against the Arkham Knight. 

***

He learns that the Knight has a sense of humor, is capable of letting little surprised laughs when Tim says something that amuses him. 

He seems to like when Tim loses his temper, knows just the right buttons to press to get Tim to fire back at him, without pushing too far. He especially likes it when Tim gets an attitude with other people too.

“You said the boss wanted to meet me in the training room this time?” Tim looks around with a raised eyebrow. When the previous commander, Murphey his name tag reads, first directed him this way, Tim didn’t believe it for a second. Arkham Knight always informed him of changes in plans, but he was curious to see where Murphey and his buddies were going with this.

“Wanted a change of scenery I guess,” Murphey shrugs. Tim stops in his tracks then, turning to the man behind him with a look that he hopes reads,  _ that’s the best you can come up with? _

There’s only three of them, so he’s not too worried about getting hurt, even as they move in closer to him. They all have their backs to the door so they don’t see when the Arkham Knight himself starts to walk by, pausing when he notices Tim and his men. 

Tim expects him to interrupt and demand to know what’s going on, so he’s surprised when all the Knight does is quietly lean against the wall. He folds his arms across his chest and crosses one leg in front of the other, like he has nothing better to do than watch Tim interact with his men. 

“Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on here, boys? We’re all friends here.” 

“Alright then,” Murphy sneers at him. “We’re tired of you prancing around here like you own the place just cause you’re the Arkham Knight’s favorite. We think you need to learn your place.”

And now Tim’s offended. He doesn’t _ prance _ anywhere. “And where’s that, exactly?” 

“Underneath the rest of us who busted our asses to get on Arkham Knight’s good side!”

“Well there’s no need to be quite so vulgar about it,” Tim smirks. “All you had to do was ask nicely.”

As Murphy stutters around a way to turn the conversation back in his favor, Tim glances briefly over at the Arkham Knight. There’s no change in his pose, but Tim can practically feel the Knight grinning at him. He turns his attention back to the goons just in time to block the first punch Murphy sends.

“Thanks for the help,” Tim says sarcastically, just a couple minutes later. The Knight had only moved from his post on the wall after the three men were groaning in pain on the floor.

“You didn’t need it.”

“I know,” Tim sighs. “Thought you might want to at least correct them on you being sweet on me though.”

“There was nothing to correct.” 

And it’s on that day that Tim leans the Arkham Knight can flirt.

***

He learns that the Knight is protective of him, at least to some extent anyway, when he shows up to their weekly meeting with bruises along his jaw. 

He’s not taken more than three steps toward the Knight’s desk before Knight stands and crowds into his space. “What happened to you?”

The ferocity in the his voice surprises Tim and he finds himself allowing the contact, letting the Knight cup his face in his hands and move it so he can get a better view of the bruises. 

“Penguin isn’t too happy I won’t do business with him anymore since he took your bribe,” Tim says softly. This close he can almost make out small details of the Knight’s face behind his helm. He has a strong jaw, plump lips, and-Tim’s heart stutters in his chest when he notices intense eyes looking back at him. 

He takes a step back to get some space. “Nothing I can’t handle, big guy.” 

The Knight makes a soft frustrated sound, but he lets it go.

The next night, just as Tim is about to fall asleep, he gets a text. It’s on the phone he got especially for his conversations with the Knight, on the Knight’s tab of course. He opens the message and makes a startled sound at the image that pops up. 

It’s the Penguin, hogtied with a large apple stuffed in his mouth. He has bruises along his jaw similar to the ones decorating Tim’s face. There’s a caption under it, and Tim finds himself laughing as he reads it.

**He says he’s sorry.**

***

It’s almost a year into their partnership before Tim gets kidnapped to be used as leverage against Arkham Knight. He’s honestly surprised it took this long for it to happen. Knight has made quite a few enemies in his rise to power, and it’s well known by now that Stray is his right hand man. 

The woman in front of him is lanky, with pale skin and long greasy brunette hair. She has Tim tied up to a chair and has been subjecting him to her monologue in her screechy grating voice ever since he regained consciousness. He’s starting to get a headache. 

“I am The Mare! The terror that-”

“Wait, like as in a female horse?” Tim knows that isn’t what she’s talking about, but sometimes he can’t help finding humor in the poor names people choose. 

“No!” Her voice gets even higher in its offense. “Like the demon that brings forth bad dreams and haunts your sleep. And that’s exactly what I plan to do with this new concoction I made!” Which sounds an awful lot like- “My darling Scarecrow taught me just how to make it…. _ before Arkham Knight’s betrayal got him locked up _ !” 

Tim casts a nervous glance at the nasty yellow liquid attached in packets to her belt, fear gas bombs, he realizes now. “I can understand why you’re upset, but don’t you think Scarecrow would want to be a part of this revenge scheme? Why not wait until after you get Scarecrow out of the asylum?”

She pauses, doubtful now, like Tim wants her to be. “I don’t think I have the resources to break him out…”

“I could help you with that if you let me go,” Tim shrugs. “I’m known for being able to get in and out of places easily.” 

He spots Arkham Knight on the rafters, creeping quietly towards them. It reminds Tim of the first day he met Knight. He’d smile if he wasn’t trying to keep her distracted. 

“I thought you were loyal to the Knight,” Mare wrinkles her nose at him. “Why would you help me?”   
  


“I’m loyal to the paycheck. I’m sure we can work out a deal once you and Scarecrow are reunited.”

Mare frowns, her eyes glazing over as she calculates her options. It causes her to lose enough that Knight can strike, jumping down and putting an elbow in her temple to knock her out. Tim’s already shimmying out of the bounds he had already untied five minutes ago. 

“Only loyal to the paycheck, huh?” Knight says, pulling Tim to his feet. 

“Come on now, there’s no need to get jealous,” Tim teases. “You know you’re my favorite client.”

“I’m your only client right now,” Knight says, and Tim can practically hear him rolling his eyes. 

The flirting between them isn’t new, but doing it in front of other people isn’t something they usually do, which is probably why Mare is able to throw one of her fear bombs without them noticing. 

Arkham Knight curses as the room around them fills with the fear mixture. Tim would’ve as well, except the yellow cloud is already surrounding them and Tim doesn’t have anything to filter out the air like Knight does. 

“Put this on,” Knight demands, pressing a button on his helm to unleash the clasps around his neck and moving it onto Tim’s head. 

Tim takes a deep breath as Knight secures it on him, blinking to adjust to seeing everything through Knight’s helm. It’s all computerized, transparent graphs and digital numbers, that Tim doesn’t have time to try to understand filling up spots of his vision. 

Knight presses a button near his collar that causes another helm to cover his face, this one slightly smaller and red, before they make their escape out the building. 

“My place is close,” Tim says, once they’re safe a few blocks away. It’s odd hearing his voice filtered through the disguiser in the helm. “We should go there first to-Knight?” He catches Arkham Knight when he suddenly stumbles forward, giving Tim clear view of the large crack in the back of Knight’s helm. 

“Oh no,” Knight’s getting heavier in his arms, forcing Tim to throw Knight’s arm over his shoulder and wrap an arm around Knight’s waist. “Just try to stay conscious until I get you back to my place, big guy.” He doesn’t try to decipher the slurred response he gets, just pulls out his grapple gun and fires.

***

Knight passes out a block away from Tim’s loft, making the final stretch of the journey a slow struggle as Tim is forced to carry him the rest of the way. He’s just lucky the screams don’t start until after they’re behind the lofts soundproof walls. 

He drops Knight gracelessly onto his couch, nearly falling down with him. Then he presses the latches to releases Knight’s helm, silently hoping he won’t think Tim was just taking advantage of the situation, but he needs to figure how bad this was. He sets the helm down on the table, turning back around and freezing when he catches sight of Knight’s face for the first time. 

“ _ Jason, _ ” Tim whispers. His face is older now, fuller and scarred thanks to Joker, but it’s easily recognizable from his file and the photographs that used to be in the manor. The revelation comes with less surprise than Tim was expecting. It makes more sense now, the vendetta against Batman and his knowledge about Bruce’s allies. It doesn’t make it any easier to take in though.

Jason whimpers, reminding Tim he has a job he needs to be doing and he hurries to it. Jason isn’t looking well, his face is covered in sweat and his eyes are flickering back and forth rapidly behind his lids. He already has a fever, so Tim strips him to his underwear, uses a wet cloth to try and cool him off. He doesn’t want to give him any medication in case it’ll react poorly to the toxin in his system. 

His screams have died down by now, thankfully because he didn’t get too large of a dose through the small crack in his helm. He still makes occasional noises, quiet words that Tim can’t hear very well. He thinks maybe he hears Bruce’s name once and it does nothing to ease the ache in his chest.

***

Tim wakes up the next morning in his own room, even though he remembers falling asleep on the living room floor, leaning against the couch. He expects his apartment to be empty, but as he lays there he can hear the soft footprints of someone moving around in the other room. 

_ Jason.  _

All at once the memories of last night swarm around in his head then he’s rolling out of his bed without even thinking about it. 

Jason isn’t in his living room where Tim expects him to be, but in the kitchen, sipping water from a glass and flipping through an old comic book from Tim’s bookshelf. He’s still only wearing his boxers, Tim notices with a thick swallow, his broad shoulders taking up a lot of space in Tim’s tiny kitchen. He had to have heard Tim walk into the room but he doesn’t make any moves to address Tim. 

Tim takes a breath to center himself, lets it out in steady exhale. “I thought you would have hated me.”

“I hated everything for a while.” The rough, deep voice Tim was thought Jason would have isn’t present. Instead, Jason’s voice sounds almost soft and incredibly young. “I studied you often before I attacked Gotham, some type of masochistic curiosity I guess. I remember thinking, there he is; Bruce has finally found the perfect Robin-a mindless soldier that would follow his orders, no questions asked.” Jason gives a little humorless laugh. “But when you became Stray I knew there was something different about you. It intrigued me.”

“So you wanting me to work for you, that was just an excuse to learn more about me?” Tim guesses. Jason’s eyes are bright and piercing. As often as Tim used to wish for the Arkham Knight’s helm to be gone, now he almost wants the buffer back in between them.

“Yes, although I didn’t expect you to agree so easily. I didn’t think you were too fond of me either.” 

“Well you did threaten me,” Tim reminds him. “And I wanted to find out as much as I could about Arkham Knight. But I did still hated you back then.”

“And now?” When Tim doesn’t answer him right away, Jason slides his chair back from the table to stand. Tim watches him move closer in silence, tilting his head back when Jason comes to stand directly in front of him.

“And now?” Jason repeats softly. 

“I think it might be something of the opposite.” Even though there’s only inches between them, Tim finds himself lifting up on his toes to get even closer still. This close, he can make out every scar lining Jason’s face, the green specs of color surrounding his pupils, the freckles dusting his cheeks.

And then there’s no space in between them at all once Jason leans down to press their lips together. 

Tim’s eyes close as he feels a hand tangle itself in his hair. His own hand comes up to grip Jason’s bicep, as if it’ll help rebalance him if his legs give out.

Just as the thought to deepen the kiss crosses Tim’s mind, Jason pulls back just enough to separate their lips. He brushes his nose against Tim’s gently after, almost as if it’s an apology for ending the kiss so soon.

“How long have you wanted to do that for?” Tim’s voice comes out in a shaky breath.

“Ever since you threatened to break my arms if I pointed my gun at you again.”

***

Tim waits until Jason has left to make the phone call he had been planning to make since last night. Mare needs to be stopped, but Tim isn’t going to let her get near Jason again and that means he can’t risk being captured as bait again. Selina answers within the first five rings.

“Timothy, you should know better than to wake me before noon on weekends.”

“I know, but it's important.”

There's a brief silence from Selina, during which Tim can hear her press the button so he's on speaker, and some shuffling. “What happened?”

“There’s a new face in town that’s going to become a problem if we don’t deal with her,” Tim sighs. “I was hoping you and Harley would be so kind as to send her into Arkham Asylum, where she belongs.”

There’s more shuffling from the other side of the line before Harley’s voice comes over the speakers. “Did she hurt you?”

“Yes,” Tim answers after a hesitant pause, the clear memory of Jason’s screams last night echoing in his mind. 

“ _ I’ll destroy her _ .”

Tim grins. “I knew I could count the two of you.”

***

“Bruce would be proud of you, you know.” 

“Tim,” Jason goes tense like Tim predicted he would, but the fact that tensing up is all he does just shows how far he’s come in the past year. There was a time in their early days together when Tim doubts he could have gotten away with mentioning Bruce’s name without being attacked.

“I know-I know, but I just need to say this and then we can go back to never talking about him again,” Tim runs a hand up and down Jason’s back soothingly. 

They’re relaxing in Tim’s bed after a productive day at Arkham Knight’s headquarters, running the city took a lot more paperwork and meetings than Tim had thought possible, and he hadn’t wanted to ruin the peaceful mood, but they just couldn’t keep pretending Bruce never existed. 

“He’d be proud of the endless list of people I’ve killed, and my allegiance with all of the remaining crime lords in Gotham?” Jason rises to lean on one elbow, resting his cheek in his palm as he shoots Tim a bemused look. 

“He’d be proud of everything you’ve been able to overcome,” Tim watches as Jason’s expression shudders, going from curious to pained to carefully blank in less than a second. “He'd be proud that you're still protecting innocents and keeping the city safe, even if it's in a way he wouldn't approve of.” 

“He still saw me as an enemy though.” 

“Bruce saw everyone as an enemy,” Tim laughs. “He even locked me up once. But, that doesn't mean you're a bad guy.” 

“I've done plenty bad things to get where I am now,” Jason scoffs. “Worse than what you’ve seen. And there are some things I regret, mainly things from before Bruce...left, but most of it I don’t. There are people out there that don’t deserve to live anymore and I’m not afraid to decide who gets a bullet in the mouth.”

“I understand,” Tim says quickly because he could hear the challenge rising in Jason’s voice. “I’m not saying I’ll be able to participate in that with you, but I get it. I’m not going anywhere unless you want me gone. I know that I’m not much use anymore now that Gotham is officially yours.”

“Gotham is  _ ours _ . I couldn’t have done any of this without your help. Besides,” Jason smirks. “Who else is going to call me out when I’m being an asshole? Everyone else is too scared.”

“That’s because they don’t know what a big softie you actually are.”

“Only to you.” Jason’s quiet statement sends a happy flutter through Tim’s stomach. It’s not exactly a confession, but it’s close enough for him, for now.  

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment and/or kudos if you liked this :D  
> And you can follow me on tumblr here [Glaciya](https://glaciya.tumblr.com/) if you're interested!


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